Also known as painful intercourse syndrome, vulvodynia is an often-oversimplified diagnosis for a very complicated and debilitating syndrome. Pudendal neuralgia is inflammation of the pudendal nerve. This condition causes burning or stabbing pain in the genitals, urethra or anus. The pain often gets worse over the course of a day and is exacerbated by sitting. Both conditions make sex incredibly painful.
Sex should not cause you persistent pain. It can get better. You’re not alone.

April 30, 2010

All Quiet on the Vagina Front

My vulvodynia and pudendal neuralgia have been under control the last couple weeks. I've been able to get through an entire day at work without pain! I think it's because I'm splitting my time between sitting on my cushion and standing.

I still have pain when I do strenuous work or go to the gym. Last weekend, my husband used his favorite wedding gift, a chain saw, on some branches that have been cluttering our yard for a year. I carried the smaller logs and put them in a pile in the corner of the yard. I also scavenged the yard for sticks, creating a separate pile for them. The repetitive motion of bending and lifting caused my pudendal nerve to flare. I had to stop that activity and I haven't gone back.

When my body starts talking, I drop what I'm doing and listen. It's just not worth it to push myself to do that extra five minutes on the elliptical or pick up that last log in the yard. The price is just too high. I've found a good routine that allows me to live a pretty normal life and avoid causing myself pain as much as possible. There's always some pain with sex, but it's manageable. With the compound back in my system, there is less burning pain after sex.